New Beginnings: A PruCan fanfic
by King-Artie
Summary: Gilbert is a depressed man who just lost his job, and Matthew is a highschool student who's socially awkward. Will they be able to continue their relationship?
1. Chapter 1

Gilbert stared at the television set, glass of beer in one hand and remote in the other. Ever since he'd lost his job, he'd been living in his little bro's basement (pathetic, he knew) and 'looked for a job' all day while his brother either went to his job or ogled the little Italian man (if you could even call him a man) that somehow managed to weed his way into Ludwig's life.  
He didn't mind Feliciano, really. He was very, very sweet, a wonderful cook, too. He was a bit of an airhead, and was always a little too chipper in the morning's for Gilbert's taste, but all in all, Feli wasn't _bad_.  
His brother, on the other hand, was different. He was an annoyance, a nuisance even. He always slightly out shadowed Gilbert, and always chastised him for being eccentric and different, all because he didn't fit the cookie cutter mold his brother and grandfather had set themselves into.  
Which was part of the reason why Gilbert felt awfully depressed. He was originally in a dead-end job, then lost said job for being late one too many times and back sassing a customer for interrupting him. And even though he'd prided himself on being single, and not dating or going out, he'd be lying if he didn't say he was lonely.  
The only person he'd ever dated was Elizaveta back in highschool, which was a slight mistake since they always got along better as friends and not boyfriend and girlfriend. After they broke up from things being 'too awkward', she started dating Rodreich, his frenemy, if you will.  
And Gilbert was jealous, of course-but he was happy for them. He couldn't be angry at their happiness, could he?  
No, he couldn't. Elizaveta was still an awesome friend, and even stuck-up Rodreich was nice to him sometimes. They were good company once in a while.  
And of course, with his two lovebird friends, they always tried to set him up with people. One of them was Ivan Braginski, who he loathed with a passion. The 'stupid commie' as he'd grown accustomed to calling Ivan, was weird, in a bad way. He was so childlike, yet so cruel at the same time. He played mind games with people, and it bugged the crap out of Gilbert.  
And then there was Natalia, Ivan's sister who was equally as creepy and weird as Ivan was. She kept on mentioning her brother through out the date, but other than that she seemed... all right. But there never was a second date with Natalia.  
Speaking of dates, he was supposed to go out on another set-up blind date with some kid Elizaveta's friend Alfred knows. From what Elizaveta told him, this kid and Alfred were twin brothers, meaning that if Alfred and his twin were anything alike, he didn't want any.  
But, he was also lonely and willing to take a chance. After what he'd dealt with from Ivan, nothing could phase him, really.  
The date in question was actually supposed to be a few hours from now. He wasn't too worried about looks, since it didn't really matter if he shaved or not from how light his hair was, and he'd taken a shower earlier, so all he needed to do was get dressed and chill.  
Ludwig was very surprised Gilbert was going on a date, especially one Elizaveta had set him up on. After the previous two disasters, one that Ludwig had the unfortunate chance to view first hand, he would've thought that Gilbert would have taken a break from dating.  
Feliciano, on the other hand, was more than eager to help prep Gilbert for his date. He thought it was wonderful that his boyfriend's brother was going out when he was usually cooped up alone all day. He kept on badgering Gilbert, to the point where the albino had to hide in the bathroom and pretend he was taking a dump to get some peace and quiet. However, as soon as he exited a whole two hours later, Feliciano once again pounced on him and started jabbering on about how he should wear a blue suit instead of a black one because black would clash too much with his very fair skin. No doubt Feli had been listening in on Francis's fashion rants again.  
Gilbert glanced at the clock on the side of the room, noticing that he only had thirty minutes left. He sighed harshly, leaving his beer on the table next to his bed and getting up. He honestly didn't want to go to this date, because if it was anything like the other two, it would be a disaster.

Matt's POV  
Matt was so nervous over this stupid date.  
He was still in highschool, his last year before he'd graduate, and he was easily the shyest kid in the entire school. He had maybe two or three people he could consider acquaintances, the closest person he had to a 'friend' was his own brother, and even then it wasn't a very good friendship.  
Speaking of his brother, he was the one who set him up on this stupid blind date in the first place. He thought it'd be good for Matt if he went out and talked to people, and maybe date someone and not be a "complete loser."  
And of course, in his fit of rage at being called a "complete loser", Matt had agreed on the date. All he knew was that it was some guy that a friend of Alfred's knew, and that they were in a 'similar boat' in terms of relationships. Which in all honesty, didn't really make him feel any better. If anything, it'd be worse if they were both super socially awkward, because then they'd both just sit there and stare at each other.  
Matt had been meticulous in the way he looked. He had taken extra care to be clean and smell nice, to make sure he had nice breath, and that his outfit was classy but not too extravagant. Hell, he'd even tried to smooth down that annoying ahoge that poked out from his head in one weird curl. He spent maybe thirty minutes trying to get it to lay flat on his head, only for it to poke back out, larger and curlier than ever.  
He now sat on the couch, waiting for his brother to drive him to the diner he was meeting this stranger at. Alfred agreed that since the date would be fairly short, he'd be waiting out in the car for Mattie, since he apparently didn't have any plans that night, which was a pretty big shock for Matthew.  
Alfred and Matthew, despite being twin brothers, were very different in many aspects. Sure, they certainly did look very similar, but they had very opposite personalities. Matt was very shy and introverted, he didn't have many friends, and spent much of his time just doing his own thing. Alfred, on the other hand, was very outgoing and extroverted, always going out with his many friends and partying to his heart's content.  
It actually kinda pissed Matt off. Not his brother's friends, but how Alfred wasted his time with people that never helped him grow as a person, and only made him a worse one. Alfred was also very smart, but his grades were terrible and he was barely passing most of his classes because he spent more time with friends than doing his homework.  
Alfred grinned at Matt, grabbing his arm and practically dragging him to the car. Matt couldn't help but sigh heavily as his brother put the key in the ignition and smiled brightly at him.  
"Aren't you excited?!" Alfred asked with a very peppy tone in his voice. Matt smiled weakly and nodded in return.  
The drive to their destination was slightly tense. Alfred was chattering away, while Matthew merely let out either one word responses or grunts of agreement or disapproval as he looked out the window. He wasn't nervous about the date, more as he was annoyed by it. While it would be nice to have a boyfriend, he also enjoyed his solitude as well. Alfred, though, could not take that for an answer. He thought every person should at least go out with friends once in a while, and that his brother spending time on his own was bad for his well being.  
He certainly appreciated his brother's concern, but at the same time Alfred treated it as though Matt didn't have any social interaction at all. Matt did have a job, and saw and talked to people on an every day basis. He also went to school and talked to people there too, so it wasn't as though he was by himself all the time.  
As they pulled into the parking lot of the diner, Matt let a large breath out that he didn't realise he was holding. He unbuckled his seat belt and exited the car, trying to muster every ounce of courage and strength he could.  
Alfred could tell that he was a little nervous, so he put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. Matt smiled gently, fixing his glasses before stepping to the door and entering the diner.  
The diner smelled of fried food and grease. It was very hot and humid, making it slightly hard to breath. Matt looked around, trying to spot anyone that could possibly be his date. Unfortunately, most of the people here were elderly, making Matt a bit wary of who the hell Alfred had set him up with.  
He was pulled out of his thoughts by Alfred dragging him to the back of the diner, shouting at someone with a head of silvery white hair. The guy turned his head quickly, revealing weirdly enticing ruby red eyes.  
"Hey Gil, this is my bro, Mattie!" Alfred exclaimed cheerily, smacking his brother hard on the back, making Matthew let out a cough.  
"It's Matthew, not Mattie..." Matthew nearly whispered. He felt slightly over-shadowed by his brother's presence, because as usual, he was being loud and drawing unnecessary attention to them.  
"And I'm Gilbert," the albino man said with a sly smirk, raising his eyebrows in a weird suggestive way, making Matthew blush slightly.  
"Have fun you too!" Alfred cheered, nearly skipping to the door. God was he weird.  
They sat down at a very grimy looking booth on opposite sides of each other. Gilbert, despite seeming very cheery and happy, seemed upset. His eyes had a dull look to them, and his smile seemed very forced. He slouched slightly, hinting to Matt that he had low self confidence.  
Their chatter was mostly small talk, until they stumbled upon a common dislike; Their brothers.  
"And he goes out every night, coming back at three in the morning with a new girl every night! He always makes fun of me for never going out, and yet all of his friends are either drug addicts or drug dealers, or both! And he wants to bitch at _me_ about a social life?!" Matthew wailed, knocking back the rest of his milkshake.  
Gilbert nodded in agreement. "I know how you feel. My brother doesn't even really have friends, but he talks to people and has a boyfriend, which is more than I can say for pathetic old me," Gilbert murmured, stirring the straw of his coke around in the glass. He looked out of the window, slight tears forming in his eyes. He began to shake slightly, looking like he was about to cry.  
Matthew's face softened. "Gilbert, you're not pathetic..." mumbled, placing his hand on Gilbert's.  
Gilbert gave a weak smile. "You really think so?"  
"I know so."  
And with that, they walked out of the restaurant (after paying, of course) and walked to Alfred's car.  
"I'll see you soon?" Gilbert asked, smiling gently.  
"Yes," Matthew said as he jotted down his phone number and handed it to Gilbert.  
Maybe a relationship didn't seem so bad after all.


	2. Chapter 2

Alfred grinned at Matt as he got into the car. "So," he began, "how'd it go?!"

Matthew smiled gently, blushing a little. He really did like Gilbert. Despite his confident exterior, he was still very sweet and a good listener. So far, his impression of him was good. "I like him," Matthew gushed.

Alfred grinned wider, "I knew you two would hit it off!"

"I guess you were right after all, Al." Matt buckled his seat belt, smiling to himself.

When they got home, Matt immediately got a text from an unknown number asking "wanna hang out tomorrow?" which confused him at first, but then realized it was most likely Gilbert. "Sure" he texted back, smiling a little.

"Dude, what're you so smiley about? Is it your new boy toy?" Alfred asked with a stupid smirk, making Matt blush slightly.

"It is, he asked me to hang out tomorrow."

"Wooo, Mattie's gonna score some dick!" Alfred shouted, making Matt cringe slightly. He hated when Alfred had to be so loud and inappropriate.

"Alfred, I really don't appreciate you saying stuff like that, especially as loud as you just did."

"Sorry broski, I just say whatever comes to mind, ya know?" Alfred said with an especially dumb look on his face. God did Matthew wish he was stronger at times like this so he could beat his stupid brother up.

When Gilbert got home, he got some very curious looks from his brother and his brother's lover. Ludwig was intrigued by Gilbert's dopey but smiley face, and Feliciano brightened up at his presence.

"How did the date go?" Ludwig asked, raising his eyebrow questioningly.

Gilbert smiled even wider, answering, "It was fantastic!"

Feliciano gave a loud gasp, hopping over the couch and tackling Gilbert, hugging him tightly. "I am so happy for you Gilbert!" he wailed, displaying a little too much affection towards him. Gilbert gently shoved Feliciano off promptly.

"I'm very glad that you've found love, Gilbert," Ludwig began, "but I'm hoping that your new relationship will not impede upon your job that you will be getting soon, correct?"

Gilbert rolled his eyes, "Of course not, Luddy! You know I wanna leave more than you want me to go! I'm itching to get out of here and let you and your boyfriend be all on your own!" Gilbert said with a slightly joking tone to his voice, making Ludwig sigh loudly.

"Gilbert, I'm serious. You really need to be thinking about your life and what job you will have. I cannot let you live in my basement forever."

Gilbert merely grinned, throwing his arm around Ludwig's meaty shoulder. Jesus, when did his little brother become bigger than him?! "Of course, you know I'll find some job soon enough!"

"I hope so, I'd hate to think what might happen if Feliciano and I started a family with you still living here."

Gilbert glared at Ludwig. "I would be a wonderful uncle, thank you very little, Luddy."

"Please do not call me that."

"Make me."

Ludwig sighed again, looking down upon Gilbert as thought he were a child. "I do not have time for your childish games, but I am serious about you finding a job soon. You may stay as long as you wish if you pay rent and look for a home of your own, but I will not allow you to simply sit around all day and drink, and that is final." Ludwig then pulled Gilbert's arm off of him, picked up a bewildered Feliciano and made his way upstairs.

Gilbert glared at the wall, chugging his third bottle of beer since he'd gotten home from his date. He had initially been in a pretty good mood, and then, like usual, his brother had to come in and stomp all over it with his seriousness. Sometimes he wondered how he managed to score a boyfriend in the first place.

He took another swig of beer as he turned his attention to his phone. He knew he'd gotten a text earlier, but he was too pissed off to answer it or see who it was. And to his delight, it was Matthew, who had agreed to hang out tomorrow. The only problem being, he hadn't thought he'd get that far and manage to score another date, meaning he had no idea where they could go. They could come over here, Ludwig would surely be at work, and he could occupy Feliciano with some stupid task to keep him busy. Or they could go to Matt's house, but with Alfred most likely being there, that may not be a good idea.

Maybe Matt coming over to Gilbert's house was a better idea.

He told Matt to come over to his house, gave him the address, and smiled as he sent it.

Matt responded with an "okay, I'll be there at eleven" and Gilbert smiled even wider, feeling a weird warm feeling rise in his chest.

The next day, Matt woke up bright an early to get ready to see Gilbert. It was a Saturday, meaning his parents and his brother would most likely be out today, and he would be too, for once.

He took a nice long shower, humming gently to himself as he washed his hair. He got dressed in his usual red sweatshirt with a maple leaf from when he visited Canada with his papa and brother for his birthday, and put on a nice pair of khakis. He didn't really have any jeans that weren't torn or old, and even if it was a casual date at someone's home, he still wanted to look nice. He'd long since given up on pushing down his large curl on his head, and instead focused on making sure his glasses weren't dirty and covered in finger prints and dust. He also made sure to bring gum in case he and Gilbert 'got frisky' as his brother called it. Hey, you never know.

He didn't have a car, and his parents weren't home to drive him (besides, if he told them about his new boyfriend they would freak out) meaning he was stuck walking. When he did finally get there, he noticed how oddly perfect the yard seemed. The grass was mowed into a seamless line, the flowers were all in a defined order, and there was not a leaf or branch in the drive way.

He walked up to the door and rung the doorbell, waiting anxiously for someone to answer. He knew that Gilbert lived with his brother, meaning there was a good chance he might answer, which he was hoping he didn't.

But to Matthew's luck, he was not met with Gilbert or his brother. Instead, a short auburn haired man appeared with a large smile on his face. He gasped at the sight of Matthew, grabbing his hand and pulling him inside.

"Hello!" Feliciano cheered loudly, "my name's Feliciano! You must be signore Gilbert's new friend!"

Matthew nodded nervously, looking all around for any sign of Gilbert.

"I'll go tell him you're here!" Feliciano said, skipping off.

Matthew stood awkwardly in the hallway, looking around the house. It seemed just as orderly and nice as the front yard. All the furniture was in place, all the colors matched, and there wasn't much decor around the house other than a few pictures of what he presumed were family and friends.

Gilbert walked out, and seemed to have the opposite idea of how one should look in front of a date. He was still in his pajama bottoms and a stained white t-shirt. His hair was a mess, and he looked like he'd just rolled out of bed. He gave Matt a grin, rubbing his eyes and yawning loudly.

"Heeeey babe!" Gilbert purred, draping his arm around Matt's shoulder. Matt felt his face get warm, blushing slightly as Gilbert kissed his nose.

"H-Hey Gil," he mumbled. It was a bit uncomfortable having someone act so affectionate when you've only met them a day ago.

"Whadda ya wanna do?" Gilbert asked, getting a little too close for comfort.

"Well, I... Kinda thought you had something in mind."

Gilbert stood in thought for a few minutes. He didn't really think this through, did he?

"Hmmm... Maybe we could... Go for a walk?" Matt suggested.

Gilbert smiled and nodded, grabbing Matt by the arm. "Lets goo!"

"No, not yet. Go get dressed, I'm not going to be seen walking around with you looking like that."

They decided to go walking near the park. It was pretty close by, but Matthew figured it'd be a nice way for them to chat and get to know each other a little better. He still felt a little shy around Gil, especially because he'd let himself get a little out of control when he was ranting about his brother last night. He knew Gilbert probably understood though, that brothers were annoying at times. And since he'd let himself get a little carried away last night, he figured he'd have to make sure not to go off on a rant like that again.

But, if he was being honest, there wasn't much to talk about. He could talk about his brother, sure, but that'd be beating a dead horse with a stick. He never really socialized all that much outside of work and school, and those were mundane conversations that never went past an answer to a question or even a "hi, how are you?" It made him slightly embarrassed, and made him think that maybe Alfred was right about him needing some friends. He felt very socially stunted. What did people talk about when they were dating? Did they talk about their days? He couldn't really do that, as almost the entire day was being spent with Gilbert that had anything worth mentioning. He couldn't say "I tripped over my own underwear this morning in my room, I really need to clean it up." He could ask some stupid questions about Gilbert that you'd ask when you had nothing else to talk about, but that would make things awkward. Should he just ask about what Gilbert liked? Yeah, that seemed good enough.

"So," Matthew began, "what's your favorite color?"

"That's... A little sudden."

Matthew's face reddened a bit, feeling slightly embarrassed. "I just figured we should get to know each other."

"Right. Well, I think my favorite color would have to be... Prussian blue," Gilbert stated with a hint of pride. "What's yours?"

"Mine? Probably... Red."

"Red?" Gilbert asked, seeming slightly surprised. "Never really thought you'd be one to like the color red, Williams."

"First of all, Williams? Really? Secondly, why are you so surprised by that?"

Gilbert shrugged. "Just don't seem like the kinda guy to like red. You seem like those guys that wear sweater vests and only buy anything in "shale grey" or "baby's ass peach" or some shit."

Matthew scowled. If anything, he'd just captured the essence of his dad. "That's how my dad is, actually."

Gilbert blinked. "Your dad wears sweater vests and only buys things in baby barf green?"

"I'm pretty sure you said different colors before, but yes, he does." Matthew couldn't help but giggle at the look at Gilbert's face.

"Wait are you serious? Does your dad actually dress like that?"

Matt grinned back at him. "Yeah, he does actually. My papa gets so mad at him for it too."

Gilbert raised an eyebrow. "You have two dads?"

"Yeah. My dad's name is Arthur, he's from England. And my papa's name is Francis, he's from France. They met in college when dad went to France in some exchange student program. They used to hate each other, apparently, but now they get along fine," Matt stated, "they still argue like cats and dogs sometimes, but it's usually stupid arguments that they get over pretty quickly."

"So does that mean you're adopted?" asked Gilbert.

"Yeah. I'm not sure what happened to Alfred and I's biological parents, but I don't really care too much. What about your parents?"

"My parents?" Gilbert asked with a chuckle, "they're assholes, believe me. They dropped me off with my grandfather and never returned. I couldn't care less about them."

Matthew frowned a bit, hugging Gilbert gently. "That must suck, your parents abandoning you, I mean."

Gilbert shrugged, smirking a bit. "Not really. I took care of myself for the most part, considering I was already thirteen. I felt worse for my little bro, Luddy. He was only eight or so, and he was practically attached to my mother's hip. When she dropped him off and never came back it broke his damn heart."

Matthew sighed, feeling pretty badly for Gilbert and his brother. He never met his parents, but he knew that even if they didn't love him, he had his dad and his papa to love him. "What about your grandfather? Didn't he love you?"

"Probably. Never said it, though. Didn't bother me, but it bothered Ludwig a lot. I guess he was so used to our mother's affection that going from being the center of attention to just some kid hurts," Gilbert muttered, glaring at the ground.

"So I'm guessing that you and your parents relationship wasn't very good when you still lived with them?"

"Not really, no. I was a trouble maker, unlike goody two shoes Luddy. They didn't like how I didn't do what they said, and how I teased Ludwig," Gilbert mumbled. He let out a deep sigh, staring off slightly. Matthew could see the beginnings of tears in his eyes, making him realize he should change the subject.

"My parents aren't all that great either. My dad pretty much ignores me and forgets about me a lot. My papa doesn't, but he babies me a lot and bugs me to go out more like my brother."

Gilbert looks over at Matthew, his wine colored eyes a little red around the sclera from crying. He smiled gently, not the cocky grin or smirk he was already beginning to get used to. "Well your papa can fuck off," Gilbert chuckled, "because you not going out means there's more of you for me."

Matthew blushed slightly. "T-Thanks Gilbert."

"No problem," Gilbert said, looking down at his watch. "Ah shit!" he hissed, rolling his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"Ludwig's gonna be home by now, and he's gonna nag me about getting a job."

"Oh." Matthew stared down at the ground. He hoped that Ludwig wasn't the type to get angry, because from what Gilbert has said about him, he's pretty muscular. Then again, Gilbert also said "but not as strong as the awesome me" so he could also be pretty small too.

"Well I guess it's not that bad, since you can meet him and show him that you're a good influence on me."


End file.
